What would you do without your shoulder joints? They help you carry, reach, lift, throw a ball and so much more. If pain, poor range of motion and other symptoms are limiting your life, it may be time to consider shoulder surgery. Below is information on the most common operative procedures and when it may be necessary to have one.
What Can Go Wrong with a Shoulder?
The answer is that many things can impact how your shoulder looks, feels and acts. For some people, simple wear and tear and overuse from repetitive motions or heavy lifting can tear and/or inflame the tendons, ligaments, cartilage and muscles associated with this complex upper extremity joint. For others, osteoarthritis may set in after a sports injury, motor vehicle accident or the simple aging process.
Other people may struggle with a shoulder dislocation (or continued instability due to many dislocations) or even a fracture involving the scapula, or shoulder blade, humerus, or upper arm, or the clavicle, or collar bone. A hard impact may cause one of these painful and debilitating shoulder injuries.
The symptoms of a shoulder injury or chronic joint problem include:
- Pain, with or without movement of the joint
- Noise in the joint, such as grinding, popping or others
- Stiffness
- Muscular weakness
- Loss of full range of motion
- Tenderness
- Swelling of the shoulder joint
- Visible deformity of the shoulder
When Is Shoulder Surgery Your Best Treatment Choice?
Persistent symptoms which do not improve with rest, ice and other at-home interventions require evaluation by an orthopedic specialist who will take X-rays and other kinds of imaging. The doctor also will evaluate your ability to move your shoulder.
With a firm diagnosis, your healthcare provider can determine the best course of treatment to reduce pain and normalize shoulder function. For many orthopedic injuries, including shoulder injuries, surgery is not necessary. People may heal well with a program of physical therapy, stabilization with a sling, injection therapy and other customized treatments.
However, for some injuries, or if healing does not progress as intended with more conservative measures, shoulder surgery is the answer which will provide the best therapeutic outcomes. There are many kinds of shoulder surgeries available today, and many are quicker and easier than in the past. Your orthopedic specialist will tell you all about your particular procedure, how to prepare for it, how your anesthesia and post-op pain will be handled and what your recovery timeline will look like.
What Kind of Shoulder Surgeries Are There?
Today’s shoulder surgeries are more innovative and customizable than ever before. They employ the least invasive methods possible with smaller instruments and incisions and shorter recovery times. Plus, in the case of shoulder replacement, prosthetic joint components are composed of the latest and most durable of high-tech materials.
Kinds of shoulder surgeries include:
- Fracture reduction surgery to close bone ends and install stabilizing hardware as needed
- Shoulder stabilization to repair the fibrous labrum and other structures which hold the shoulder joint together
- Shoulder arthroscopy, a small incision procedure which debrides frayed cartilage and other structures damaged by injury or arthritis (a torn rotator cuff as an example)
- Shoulder replacement surgery which replaces the head of the humerus and the glenoid, or socket, with plastic and metal components
- Reverse shoulder replacement which installs a new humeral head in the glenoid and a new socket at the top of the humerus
Most patients undergo a program of physical therapy after shoulder surgery to improve range of motion and to regain full use of the affected arm.
State-of-the-art Shoulder Surgery in Lutherville, MD
At Greater Chesapeake Hand to Shoulder, our board-certified and fellowship-trained orthopedic surgeons expertly guide their patients through treatment plans which restore function and comfort to the upper extremities, including the complex shoulder joint. If you have tried less invasive treatments for your injured or worn shoulder, and think it may be time to explore surgery, call us at (410) 296-6232.
We will set up a consultation with one of our bone and joint specialists at one of our five locations: Lutherville, Bel Air, Clarksville, Pasadena or Westminster, MD. Additionally, request an appointment here. We’d love to help. Let’s discuss your options soon.
